Howdy folks! Remember this one? lol... Basically, three weeks of annoyance, a million ideas that got scrapped and 10 MS Word pages later, we have the next chapter of GoodBye. Hope it was worth the wait...

"Ever since you found yourself in someone else's arms,

I've been trying my best to get along,

And that's okay, there's nothing left to say but,

Take your records; take your freedom.

Take your memories - I don't need them.

Take your space and take your reasons,

You'll think of me.

Take your cat, but leave my sweater,

Cause we have nothing left to weather,

In fact I feel a hell of a lot better,

And you'll think of me."

- "You'll think of me," Keith Urban

--

--

He stares at me, as we wait nervously in the elevator to hit my floor. After a gruelling first day back for him, and the 7th day in the row for me, we decided to be crazy and head back to my place after Mac had all but chucked us from the doors of the crime lab.

"How far up is your stupid place, Linds?" he chuckled, "It feels like I spend my life in this elevator."

I roll my eyes as he pulls me into his side. "Is it my fault you stalk me?" I smirk as he bites my shoulder "Ow, come on. How old are you?"

"You would have said the same if I had flicked you, which was what I was going to do."

"Why do anything?"

"Why not," he questioned as turns me slightly, and holds me tightly in front of him.

I shrug, overly aware of how close we are, and the simmering emotions threatening to explode, on my part at least.

He leans closer, inches from my lips, and whisper "Not good enough, I need an answer, Miss Monroe."

I stand up on my tiptoes so that my lips meet his in a soft kiss, which quickly turns into something more. He wraps his arms around my waist and in effect, he lifts me up a little, deepening the kiss. The elevator doors open, signalling my floor, and he carefully walks forward, with my legs wrapped around his waist.

"Linds," he gasps as he pulls away, "I gotta put you down"

"What? Why?"

He glances up towards the ceiling, and then at our surroundings, "We're in the middle of the hallway."

"Oh" I grin sheepishly.

He sets me down next to him, and instantly takes my hand, dragging me practically towards my apartment.

"Someone's in a hurry," I chuckle,

"I don't know about you, but that was something that I kind of want to carry on," he chuckles as he reaches my front door, and then stops. "That's if you want to, of course," he adds quickly.

I take a deep breath as the realisation hits him that we aren't where we used to be, all those months ago. Not a care in the world, just him and me taking each day as it came.

I slowly push my key into the door, turn it, and open the door. All without looking at him. Once the door is ajar, I turn, grab his hand, and pull him into a kiss. It takes him a second to realise that I do in fact want this, and he pushes me into the apartment and kicks the door closed.

He slowly walks forward, one arm holding me close, while his other free hand is fisting through my hair, not losing contact the whole time. It feels right to be with him like this. To feel him again.

I didn't realise we were at my couch, but I was fully aware once he had pushed me, carefully onto it, and lowered himself on top of me, joining our lips together again.

I open my eyes for a brief second, and catch him staring at me. Well, not staring as such, but more like admiring, either way, he's looking at me.

"Everything okay?" I breathe in between kisses.

He nods as he slips his hand underneath my head to support it.

"You sure," I question.

"Positive" he whispers in between kisses, "Just thinking about how much I never want to let you go."

The breath hitches in my throat at what he just said to me, and the honesty in his voice when he said it.

"Good to know," I smile as I pull him back down into the smouldering kiss.

"I love you, you know that right?" He asked as he kissed the tip of my nose

"Yeah" I nod, "I think I do."

He didn't say anything, but the smile taking over his face did. Within seconds, we're back to the juvenile 'making out on the couch' that we had been doing before.

It was like getting to know him all over again. Running my fingers down his arms, lacing my fingers through his hair, him wrapping me in his arms, protectively. I sigh against his lips. As much as I was hurting at what he did to me, and as much as I wanted to be mad at him, I couldn't.

He turned slightly so that we were both facing each other on our sides on my couch, and he rested his head against one of the arms of the chair as he wrapped himself around me, whole kicking his shoes off.

"What have I told you about shoes on the furniture?" I scold as I attempt to kick my own off.

"Just practice what you preach, Montana," he drawls in his thick New York accent.

"I've missed you," I sigh as I snuggle up to him, and kiss his jaw.

"I know," he sighs as he shifts slightly, so he's laid on his back. "I've missed you more than you could ever know."

"Really?" I ask as I settle my head on his chest. "Like how?"

"Everything, anything. You're all I've known for as long as I can remember. Things make sense when you're around. You-" he shrugged, "You make things seem okay, you make me think I have things figured out, like things aren't as tough. With you, I've got someone to lean on. I just didn't realise that before."

I nod, let out a deep breath and kiss his chest. "I've always been here, you just didn't see me."

"I know" he said sadly, "If I could, I would you know – I would-"

"I know you would, but you can't, so lets get on with what we can change and make it right."

"Can I ask you something, Linds?"

"Anything," I smile as he traces my arm, lovingly.

"Why have you forgiven me?"

"I don't know, I just have" I shrug.

"Don't you feel you need to like yell at me though?"

I pull back and look at him, "What?"

"It would make me feel better, to know you'd have gotten a bunch of stuff off your chest."

"Is everything is about making you feel better? What about me?"

"Lindsay" he sighs as he sits up on the couch and takes my hand to pull me up with him, "I didn't mean it like that,"

"You never do," I say as I snatch my hand from his and get up by myself and walk towards the kitchen, "I'm going to make some tea"

"You know what Linds, I think this was a bad idea, me coming over here," he says to my back "maybe I should head home. I asked if I could ask you a question, and you've got all defensive. I was only asking. It's almost like you don't care-"

I stare at the door that's in front of me, and turn slowly so that I face him. I wouldn't have minded him saying that, if it weren't for the tone he used.

"You know what, you're right, I don't care. Get the hell out of my apartment." I glare at him.

"Consider me gone," he spat, as he grabbed his shoes and slammed the door shut behind him.

I take a deep breath as the tears roll down my face, tears of anger. And head towards my bedroom.

I'll show him that I don't care…

--

--

"Here, this is how much I don't care" I spit as I shove the box into his stomach, and turn back in the direction I had just come in, "And, for the record, tonight, was anything but me not caring. I would have presumed that moment we had on my couch was evidence of that, but whatever. And also, for the record, as much as it hurt, I had found a way to get along with it, to accept it. But, you can go to hell."

"Lindsay" he whispers as he sets the box down, "I didn't mean-"

"Any of it," I finish, "Believe it or not, I've heard it before. So you can take all this crap I've kept, and shove it up your ass Danny, because I'm done."

"Lindsay, please."

"Don't 'Lindsay, please' me, Danny. You've made your bed; lay in it. I wanted to be there for you, but I refuse to allow myself to be an afterthought any longer. It's always about making you feel better, and what we need to do to make you happy. So as much I loved you, I can't do this anymore."

"Can't do what?"

"This" I gesture wildly between the both of us, "I'm sick of the crap, I was stupid involving myself in someone like you, someone I work with, you're impulsive, I'm methodical. We're polar opposites."

"It's what makes us work, Linds. Please."

"Does it really? Have we ever really worked, Danny?"

"You know we did." He shook his head, "Do, we do work Lindsay,"

"In your opinion, maybe. Why did I do to deserve you to lie and cheat on me? What did I do to deserve that?" I question, "Explain to me what I did that made you hate me that much for you to do that to me,"

"Nothing, you didn't deserve it,"

"So why do it?"

"I was hurting, she was hurting, and it was a release of emotions."

I laugh incredulously, "That's your excuse?"

"That's my reason," he told me, "it isn't an excuse, it's what happened."

"You need help, you know that? You've actually managed to justify this to yourself? You didn't even know her, Danny!" I yell, in his hallway, "You knew Ruben, Rikki was just his Mom."

"You think I'm the first person to sleep with someone I barely knew?"

"No," I say shaking my head, "And I'm sure you wont be the last," I say coldly.

"I want to make this work Lindsay, I do."

"What is there to work, Danny? You cheated on me before we had even found a common ground in the relationship. And it wasn't just a kiss Danny, you had sex with someone else. We hadn't even gained momentum."

"You know we had a common ground, Linds. We had a lot more than that. We have chemistry, a connection. We had love, we still have love."

"No we don't, Danny. We have two pasts that have screwed with our heads so much, we need the sense of belonging."

"That isn't true, Linds."

"Isn't it?" I laugh, "That's what it seems to me, what is this connection that draws us together?"

"You want to come in?" he interrupts me.

"What, and sit on your bed? No thanks,"

"Linds, you can't stand out here,"

"Why can't I?" I laugh sarcastically,

"This isn't like you, what's gotten into you? Where is the Lindsay that I love gone?"

"Where has she gone? She left the day you fucked Rikki, that's where she's gone, Danny." I all but scream at him.

"Linds, it's late, come in."

"I want to stay out here," I tell him, "I don't want to go in there,"

"Why? Please, just come in" he pleads with me as he takes a hand, and tries to pull me into his apartment.

"No" I cry pulling my hand away from him and stepping away from him, trying to balance myself as tears begin to fall, "If I come in, I'll see her everywhere. I want to keep my memories I had with you in there safe, she already took you away from me, I don't want her to take my memories aswell."

I feel the tears cascade at a pace that I wouldn't even know what to do to make them stop, until I feel two strong arms, pull me into his equally strong chest.

"Let it out, baby."

I stand there in the hallway and sob as he rocks me gently, uttering words of reassurance into my hair.

"Things will get better" he soothes as I calm down,

"How, how will they get better? Every time I look at you, I remember how I felt, not knowing why you were pulling away from me."

"I know I hurt you Linds. That wasn't my intention, I wasn't thinking straight. I needed somehow of letting go. Lindsay, I pursed you, I wanted to be with you, I waited for you. I wasn't myself when I made that decision."

"I want you back," I sob clutching his t-shirt, "I miss you, I miss my Danny. I miss my boyfriend, my best friend."

"Let me make this better for you, Lindsay."

"You can't" I cry, "There's nothing you can do."

"There must be something," Danny pleaded with me, "anything."

"Make me forget like you made her forget."

He shook his head while still holding me to his chest, "Sorry Linds, but I ain't doing that. I'm not sleeping with you to numb the pain, we have to talk this through, in order for us to work, we have to. I don't want to lose you."

"I want to know what is so special about you – why wont you just leave me alone."

"Because we've been through too much together, Montana."

"Don't call me that," I cry, "it's too hard"

"What is," he asks as he rubs my back,

"Just don't," I cry, "Don't call me that, that's what Danny calls me. You aren't Danny. I don't know who you are anymore," I cry as I beat onto his chest.

"I know baby, I know."

"You don't," I cry, "you have no idea. You left Danny, you didn't even say goodbye. You just left."

"I didn't leave, I was coming back. You knew that."

"You left. You left me a letter. You left me to figure it out by myself."

"I needed to sort myself out. Get my shit together. It wasn't about leaving you Lindsay; it was about leaving what I had become with Rikki, and finding the Danny that could be with you." He whispered into my hair "If you wanted me back," he added.

"What are we fighting for?"

"Because I was a asshole and fucked us up." Danny shrugged.

"No, what are we fighting for, in this relationship, what are we fighting to save?"

"Us, we're fighting to save us. We're fighting to save what was Danny and Lindsay. You remember that right? You and me, Linds, I don't wanna lose you."

I nod against his chest. "Where did it happen?"

"Where? How do you mean?"

"Where did it happen?"

"You mean-"

"Yes, you and Rikki, that's exactly what I mean. Where did you sleep with her??"

He took a deep breath and then closed his eyes. "Against the wall and then on the couch."

"You slept with her twice?"

"What? No! We moved from the wall to the couch."

"Why not the bed?" I ask, "You have something against that or something?"

He shook his head no.

"What then? You were too desperate to make it to the bedroom."

"No." he shook his head again, "I couldn't,"

"Couldn't what?" I ask,

"I couldn't take her to the bed we've shared. We bought that bed together, Linds. I couldn't do it."

For what it was worth, I appreciated the second thought,

"That makes it okay then?" I ask, "Not the fact that you carried on anyway, regardless of thinking of me, obviously. But the fact you moved to the couch, so that it didn't taint 'our' bed with her."

"It doesn't make sense to me," he sighed as he rested against the wall

"Did you use protection?"

He blinked and looked at me deadpanned, "What?"

"It's a simple question, did you use protection?"

"Yes, actually. As much as I wasn't thinking that night, I did have some moments"

"Oh, well thank god for that," I spit sarcastically.

Danny opened his mouth to say something, thought about it for a second and closed it again.

We stood in silence, on opposite sides of the hallway for about five minutes before I see him shift his weight from one leg to the other. "You know the only girl I've ever had sex without protection with, is with you."

"Do I?" I shrug as I slide down the wall.

"Of course you do,"

"Yeah, but I also thought that I knew you wouldn't cheat on me. I was wrong there."

He bit his lip and nodded, "Yeah, you're right. But I'm changing and fixing things."

"You're determined to fix this, aren't you?"

"Damn right." He nods adamantly. "I love you, Lindsay. You're it for me. You're the salt to my pepper. The beat in my heartbeat; the ray in my sunshine. You're the Danny to my Lindsay."

"Wouldn't you be the Danny to Danny and Lindsay?"

"You knew what I meant, I don't do well with sentimental stuff and metaphors." he said as he moved towards me and offered me his hand, "I love you, Lindsay. I know you know that. I screw up, all the time. But I try; I'm trying to make it better for us, for you. I want to make this work. I want to get back to how we were. I miss that. I miss us. Tonight, how we were at your apartment. I want that. I want to get back on track. I thought we were."

"So did I," I shrug, "Some days it's harder to deal with. When I feel myself forgiving you and getting close again, I end up backing away, and protecting myself. I was so in love with you Danny, that I cant do that to myself again. I can't fall so in love with you, only for you to hurt me again."

"I swear to you it won't happen again."

"How can I believe you?" I ask, "Don't get me wrong, I want to. I want to so bad, but I don't know how."

"Let me show you? Prove to you."

"Only for you to hurt me again? I don't think I could deal with that Danny, not again,"

"I wont ever hurt you again, Lindsay. Give me one more chance."

"How many chances will you need until you get it right. Danny?"

"Just this once," he said as he pulled me into a hug, "All I need is one more chance,"

I chew on my lip in consideration for a minute, looking at him, "I'm trusting you, Danny. There are only so many sacrifices I can make before I start hurting myself by forgiving you."

He nods and kisses my forehead "You wont regret this, Linds. I promise"

"I think I need to promise you a few things aswell, actually."

He stands back, and looks at me, "You do?"

"I promise to stop backing away and freaking out. I'm going to try and stop bringing it up. Not only does it hurt me, but also, I can tell it hurts you aswell. And we're never going to get anywhere if we're going 'round in circles. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm gonna try to forgive and forget."

He closed his eyes and kissed me lightly on the temple, "I really do love you, Lindsay."

"I'm tired," I sigh, "Could we-," I ask, glancing into his apartment.

"Are you sure-"

I take a deep breath, "Forgive and forget, Danny. It's one step closer to get us to how we used to be. The sooner we tackle this, the easier it's going to get. If we can get through staying in your apartment, I think we can get through anything."

"As long as you're sure," He said, looking at me, "If you at all feel uncomfortable, or don't want to be there, wake me up and we can go to yours, or hell, I'll book us into a hotel for the night."

I chuckle as I take his hand and lead him into the apartment, "I'll be fine,"

I was just hoping and praying I would be just that. Fine.

R&R? Kick my muses' ass for me? Please :D